War of Will bounced back from a bumpy ride in the Kentucky Derby to win the Preakness Stakes on Saturday, holding off a field that included a riderless horse that threw his jockey out of the gate and kept running.
BALTIMORE (AP) — War of Will bounced back from a bumpy ride in the Kentucky Derby to win the Preakness Stakes on Saturday, holding off a field that included a riderless horse that threw his jockey out of the gate and kept running.
Trainer Mark Casse got his first Triple Crown victory, with War of Will unfazed starting from the inside No. 1 post position for the second consecutive race. War of Will endured a rough trip and was interfered with in the Kentucky Derby, which led to first-place finisher Maximum Security being disqualified.
Casse was just thankful War of Will didn’t go down in the Derby, which could’ve been a multihorse catastrophe.
„This is even I think probably more special given everything that we’ve been through,“ Casse said. „I’m not even calling it redemption. I didn’t feel like he got his fair shot, and that’s all I wanted — a fair shot. And he showed what he had today.“
Bodexpress threw Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez just out of the starting gate but still finished the race and did an extra lap around the Pimlico track. An outrider tried to swoop in at the top of the stretch and corral Bodexpress, but the horse sped up and passed a few competitors near the finish line — and kept going.
